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(So it’s been quite some time since my last update, but between getting hit with the flu, the holidays and starting a new job AND internship – it’s been insane. The move to the city proved to be one of the greatest things I could have done. Slowly but surely I’m working my way into the industry and enjoying every crazed minute of it. The subway rides have also given me ample time to catch up on my reading. I have about thirty books I’ve read that I desperately want to talk about. Which brings us to today’s post! The first review in ages and it’s on one of my new favorite books, by an author I geek out over frequently on here. It’s the most recent one I’ve read, but it was so good it gets first slot! So without further ado my kiddies I bring to you the review of The Mirrored Shard by Caitlin Kittredge.)

Since reading the first pages of “The Iron Thorn” I have been hooked on the Iron Codex series by Caitlin Kittredge. What first grabbed me about the series was the story line. Steampunk-Plus I like to think of it. It really had everything I enjoy reading all packed into one book. In addition, the level at which Kittredge writes is superb. She has a firm command of language and how to weave words into a story that so few authors today have.

As I’ve become even more jaded about writing styles, plot and execution since I started my internship at the agency, it was great to read a book by an author whose work I enjoy not marred by my ever growing critical eye. Even in the cases of published books these days, I find things that make me cringe. Mirrored Shard had none of this.

It picks up some few months after the end of “Nightmare Garden”. We get to see Nerissa unmarred by the effects of iron poisoning that drove her from Aoife’s life to begin with. The story itself follows Aoife as she goes on the journey/hunt/adventure to get Dean back, while she has to deal with the repercussions of opening the gate to the nightmare realm. Needless to say, Aoife has really found herself between Scylla and Charybdis.

What I like most about this novel (and honestly the series as a whole) is that you can truly see how the events Aoife experiences change her. Whether for the good or for the bad, she grows as a character through these novels and it’s believable. It’s subtle until she does something that makes you say “Well wait in book 1 she never would have done that.” It’s clear that Kittredge has a grasp on how to grow her characters through multiple books.

Some of the beloved characters return, including Cal who is a personal favorite of mine. The Ghoul with a heart of gold. There are also some new characters. Some of whom I fell in love with immediately (even though one or two were supposed to be bad…what does that say about me?) and others who had to grow on me. It’s rare, I feel, to find secondary and tertiary characters that have been as well fleshed out as those in this book. It gives the story a far more realistic feel that, for example, the stranger Aoife encounters once acts in accordance to certain economic and social conditions. It’s clear that to some degree even these minor characters have a story behind them.

All in all, despite my technical babble the story is great. The writing is great. And I devoured it heartily. I never like to give away too much in reviews because I loathe spoilers. But let’s just say that between the East Coast and the West Coast, Kittredge gives more to the landscape that she started in Iron Thorn. Hey, we even get to see Alcatraz in this universe – which is pretty cool if you ask me. There’s also a character, Lei Xiang, that REALLY reminds me a little of something in an old Kung-Fu movie (which, by the way, is not a scathe. I LOVE old Kung-Fu movies, wrought with their crazy villains and ladies with insane eyes.)

And, I also have to say because of the subtle Lovecraftian undertones in this series (and some not so subtle which is by no means a bad thing) I’ve been sparked to pick up the old master again. I feel my life has been fulfilled a little more because of this. So thank you Ms. Kittredge, for reintroducing me to an author I loved so long ago and had long forgotten. And thank you for a stunning end to a trilogy. Though my heart is sad to leave the world of Aoife Grayson, it was indeed a fine finale. I thoroughly look forward to what this author puts out in the future.